West Virginia Democrat. [volume] (Charles Town, W. Va.) 1885-1890, 1887-09-30

live. A voice: "You are right.
Applause.
/ think ifw should speak out the
truth with reference to it, it would
be like this: Lay up foryourselves
treasures in cedar boxes, so that the
moth will at least have hard time
to get at them. (Great laughter J
Lay up for yourselves treasures in
safe deposit vaults, so that the thief
will have difficulty in getting it.
Laughter.) You may not protect
it absolutely, but you can make it
as difficult for the moth and thief as
possible. l am not sure but that
for those who lay up their splendid
treasures in cedar boxes and great
riches in safe deposit vaults, it is
laying up treasures in heaven, for
the cedar and vault constitute their
heaven. (Applause.)
This carpenter of Nazareth told us
with reference to our daily life to
have trust in God. 1t is long since
one of the most prominent ministers
in this city laid down an entirely.
different rule for the workingmen.
Said he, "If you get two dollars a
day there is no need that you should
have any worry of mind henceforth
if you will only be economical
enough to save little of it every
day" (Laughter.) Was that the
same doctrine? 1t does not seem to
me the same. A voice, "Crosby
doctrine.") His name is out see
l read the other day that there was
no occasion for discomfort among
poor people, for the reason that if
men were only willing to live on rice
that they could live for ten cents q
day, and this man worked himself
up in fine frenzy over the discon-
tent OF poor people. There is no
occasion for it," said he. "All that
is necessary is not to trust in God,
but in parsimony, in rigid economy,
in pinching poverty, and be content
in the midst of it."
On the one hand there is the gos-
pei that one of the editors of The
Standard (applause) has most hap
PLY called the gospel of improvi
dence. Tha: gospel have read to
you from this book. On the other
hand there is the gospel ofeconomy,
and q very different thing it is.
The two cannot abide side by side.
One of them is wrong. How many
of you have ever taken your little
child, five or six years of age, when
he has begun to understand matters
a little, and said to him, 'Now, my
sou, l want to give you some good
lessons for this life, upon which you
are about to enter. | want you al
ways to be strictly truthful, strictly
honest, and to cultivate all in you
that is right and kind and noble in
every respect, and when you get to
be man and go out into this world
do not go into the race for money.
The Lord above will take care of
you every day. Go out desiring to
be good man and that alone, and
do not fret yourself at all about
what you are going to eat and wear
and what house you are going to
live in" How many of you have
taken your sons aud talked to them
in that fashion ? l will tell you
what you have done. You have
gone and bought little iron saw
ings bank (great laughter), and then
you have forgotten all about the
gospel that has come down to us
through 1S00years from Judea, and
you have taken the miserable pen
ny-wise, worldly maxims of Benja-
min Franklin and you have said to
your little boy, "a penny saved is
two pence earned, and every penny
you get you stick it in that little
bank, my dear" (Laughter.) l
am not misrepresenting things, but
telling them just as they are.
Instead of Lay up your treasure
in heaven and trust in God for your
daily bread" the maxim now is,
Get all that you can and be sure
and get there every time" (Great
laughter) For if you do not get
there first you. will be sure to get
left" (Laughter.) do not object
to your laughing, but l want you to
understand that | am awfully in
earnest about this matter. Even
though this is laughable matter, it
is an awfully sad one at the same
time. (Applause.) And to mel
may not seem to be always as rever-
ent as some others-but to me the
burning outrage to-day is that the
people who worship this Man whose
words l have read to you, and the
church that declares that He is the
head Of her as an institution, and
the civilization that goes by His
name, have utterly abandoned His
whole conception of human life.
Tremendous applause.
But such change rs that could
never have come about without
cause. And l am not prepared to
say that the gospel which DR.. Cros
by has recently taught to working
men. the gospel of Benjamin Frank
lin, the most worldly wise man that
ever taught the American people, is
o.Nc,1al fn,. thic dow